Microsoft has revealed that the upgrade edition of Windows 8 will be receiving a price increase starting February 1. If you've been on the fence about upgrading to Microsoft's latest operating system, it'd be wise to make a decision one way or another before the end of this month in order to save some dough.
The standard edition will be priced at $119.99 at retail and online while an upgrade to Windows 8 Pro will set you back $199.99. We also learned that a Pro Pack will cost $99.99 and the Media Center Pack will sell for $9.99. Users currently running Windows 8 Pro can get the Media Center Pack for free until January 31.
As of writing, Microsoft is offering an online upgrade from Windows 7, Vista and XP to Windows 8 Pro for just $39.99 via Windows.com - or about five times cheaper than it will be come February. Identical pricing has been available to those running Windows 8 preview builds as well (Developer Preview, Consumer Preview and Release Preview) but as you may or may not be aware of, licenses for all of those builds expired last week. A retail copy of Windows 8 Pro is also available for a limited time for just $69.99 should you prefer to go that route.
It's also worth mentioning that consumers who bought an eligible Windows 7 PC between June 2, 2012 and January 31, 2013 can register for the Windows Upgrade Offer. This promotion brings the price of upgrading to Windows 8 Pro down to just $14.99.